Wire-drawing apparatus



sept. 7 1926. 9 19,599,393l l H. BLOUNT n WIRE DRAWI-NG APPARATUS FiledJune e, 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet l Sept. 7 1926.

H. BLOUNT WIRE DRAWING APPARATUS Filed June 6, 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 2sept. 7 1929. 1,599,393

H. BLOUNT y WIRE DRAWING APPARATUS y Filed June 6, 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet 5ffy/0.

Patented Sept. 7, 192.6.

-UNITED STATES VPATlezNT'oi-I-ICEV HARRY BLOUNT, OE OAK remi, ILLINQIs,AssIGNoR To WESTERN ELECTRIC OOM- PANY, INCORPORATED, OE NEW YORK, N.Y., A CORPORATION OE NEW YORK.

WIRE-DRAWINGAPPARA'TUS.

, Application filed, June U This 1invention relates' to 'improvements 1nwire drawing apparatus. l

The object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for drawing wirewhich is very much more rapid in its ,operation thananycovered that thelshape of theentrance to the wire reducing Opening of a die relative tothe diameter ofthe wire reducing opening fundamentally determines theamount of pull required to 'draw the wire through 4the reducing opening,and with'a lreduced pull a resultant increase in drawing speed can beattained without breakage of the wire. Dies heretofore constructed havebeen' Operated at a maximum speed of approximately 1600 feet per'minute. In accordance with my discovery, however, when a die is sodesigned that it has a straight reducing portion and the entrance intoit when viewed in cross section is rounded on a radius approximatelyequal to twice the. diameter of the. straight reducing portion, theamount of pull required to draw the wire through the reduc.

ing portion is materially reduced 'and the speed at which the wire maybe drawn therethrough is very materially increased.

I have 'also found that the speed of reduction is further materiallyaffected due tothe -length of the wire reducing opening as `corni paredwith the diameter thereof.l The longer the wire reducing opening', thegreater is the friction exerted on thewire drawn therethrough and as aconsequence the amount of power necessary to draw the Wire and theliability to vbreakage are both matcrialy affected by the length of thewire reducing opening. However, lif this opening is made too short, thereducing portion is soon worn out and the dierender'ed4 uni-it for thegiven reduction. I have found that by making the length of the reducingopening approximately lequal to the diameter 192,2'. serial No. 566,245.l

thereof, a die is produced having a length of llife commmerciallysatisfactory and atv the same time requires a minimum amount of pull todraw the wire therethrough.

Briefly stated, the. shape of the entrance'into the' wire reducmgopening fundamentally determines the speed at which wire may be drawnthrough the die, and the length of the Wire reducing opening is made asshort as possible to reduce friction lon the` wire but at the same timeof a length suflicient to give the die a commercial'life. 4

Numerous tests have demonstrated that dies in which the length of vthereducing portion is approximately equalto its diameter, while thecontour thereofv at the entrance t'o the wire reducing portion is lrounded onl a radius approximately equal to twice the diameter of thesmallest portion of the'wlre reducing opening, arecapable of drawingwire at approximately 2500 feet per minute fora length of time thatis-com-l mercially satisfactory.

Along series of experiments' have demonstrated that the proportions of'av die made either from chilled iron or from a diamond should be asabove described in order to obtain high speed reduction.

It is at present the common practice where wire isdrawn down to finesizes such as :#:19

to #40 B. & S. wire gauge, to-store the drawn wireon what are termedtake-up spools. In machines heretofore designed it has not been aserio-us problem to drive such -take-up-spools and maintain a propertension on the wire .between the spool andthe die fer 'the reason that,as heretofore stated, former machines hadhad a maximum yspeed ofoperation of approximately 1600 feet per minute and as a consequence thespeed of the'talIe-up` spool waas I'iot so greatas to render diflicult aproper storage of thewire thereon. In previous machines a satisfactoryform of drive proved to be a slipping belt between the main drivingmechanism and the driving means for the vtake-up spool. However, wherevwire' drawing machines are equipped with my imroved form ofdies capableof reduction atl 2500'feet per minute and it is attempted to store thedrawn wire on a takeupspool driven with a slipping belt, itis foundthat, vsince the takeeup spool must be driven at speeds'varving fromapproximately 5000 to 10,000 R. P. M. in order to compensate for 'thevarymg diameter thereof as drawn wire tical scctionalview of a breakageof the wire result.

is stored on the spool and maintain a constant tension on the wire, theslipping belt' lincludes a'friction clutch between the main drivingmechanism andthe driving means forthe take-up spool. This frictionclutch consists of a pair of friction disk clutch members engaged faceto face and interposed between thev spindle-of the take-up spool and themain driving mechanism. A system of levers is provided which iscontrolled by the tension of the wire between the takeup spool and thedie for varying the pressure between the disk clutch members and therebyvary'the speed of the spindle of the take-up spool. 'Y

The combination whiclrincludes dies, de# signed as l have heretoforeexplained, and a driving mechanism for the take-up spool including afriction clutch, the driving effect of which is controlled by thetension of the strand between the take-up spool and dies, has madepossible a machine which is capable of drawing wire at speeds as high as2500 feet per minute and the accurate storage of this wire n a take-upspool without causing a breakage thereof.

Although the tension regulating means consisting of the friction clutchreferred to above is particularly well adapted for use in wire drawingmachines, it is to be understood that .this mechanism may be employed onvarious other machines for handling various different kinds of strands,without departing from the spirit and scope of the present improvement.

Referring nowto the vdrawings whichI illustrate one embodiment of myinvention:

Fig.1 is a front elevation of a wire drawing-machine embodyingfthefeatures of the invention, part -of the base member being broken away;

F 2 is an enlarged skeleton view. partly in section, of the clutchcontrolling mechanism and the drive for the take-up spool;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged top plan View of the die block showing a series ofmy improved form of dies mounted therein;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary ver. portion ofthe clutch controlmechanism; v

Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan detail view, partly section showing a portionof the control mechanism for the friction drive mechanism for` thetake-up spool;

Fig. 6 an enlarged vertical sectional view of .a die made in accordancewith my invention' and used in the mechanism shown in Fig.- .1;

Fig.7 is a view like Fig. 1 showing ywire iin the process of being drawnthrough the Fig. 8 is a .viewillustrating the form taken by the wire asit is drawn through the die;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary top plan View of the die, and

` Figs. 10 and 11 are enlarged fragmentary viewsof Fig. 2.

Referring now tothe drawings in which like reference numerals designatesimilar parts throughout the several views, 10 represents a frameworkwhich supports the various elements of the wire drawing apparatus.Mounted in -suitable bearings in the framework is a horizontallydisposed shaft 18 upon which is mounted, so as to be driven thereby. aplurality of capstans 17-17 of differentdiameters, the said capstansbeing driven throughsuitable gearing by a motor (not shown) secured tothe framework. Mounted above the shaft 18 are a plurality of sheaves 19independently rotatable upon a horizontally disposed shaft 2O supported.by the framework 10. For a detailed illustration and description of thesheaves 19,- capstans 17, and the driving mechanism for the latter,reference is made to the co-pending application' of John N. .Selvig,lSerial No. 541,633, filed March 7, 1922. The details of thisconstruction have been omitted from the present application for the sakeof'simplicity sincea full disclosure of the particular construction ofthe sheaves, capstans and driving mechanism is not essential to acomplete understanding of the present invention. A supply of wire to bereduced in diameter is carried by a Vsupply spool '25 suitably mountedat the front of the machine. The wire is guided from the supply spoolover and under pulleys 26 and 27 respectively and then over the rearsheavev 19 and through the firs-t reducing die 5 carried by the dieholder 23 ('Fig. After leaving the first die the wire is wound oncearound the capstan 17 of smallest diameter, after which it is passedupward and overl the next sheave 19, and through the next reducing dieand around the next4 capstan, etc., until it is finally drawn down tothe desireddiameter by the last reducing die ,5. From the final reducingdie the drawn wirepasses around the capstan 17 of largest diameter andis guided by a pulleyv rotatably mounted on a stationaryarm 31adjustably positioned on the shaft 2O to a pulley 32 carried by a leverl33. From the pulley 32 the wire is led between two distributing fingers34 carried by a reciprocable arm 35. This arm is reciprocated back andforth in a horizontal direction by asuitable driving mechanism (notshown) connected with the driving mechanism that actuates the shaft 18,the said armrservingv and consequently the to distribute the drawn wirein even layers j upon a take-up spool 38.

The mechanism for driving the take-up spool 38 at various speeds tocompensate for the varying diameters thereof as wire is stored on thespool, which mechanism includes a friction clutch the driving action ofwhich is controlled by the tension strand, will now be described.VSuitable, gearing (not shown) driven from the capstan shaft 18 drives ahorizontal shaft 40 (Figs. 1 and 2) ositioned a short distance below thesha 18. The shaft 40 extends into a housing 41 and carries at'itsforward end a worm gear 42- which meshes with a worm 43 formed on asleeve 45 rotatable in suitable bearingsl (not shown) carried b 4thehousing 41. One end of the sleeve as secured thereto a disk clutchmember 48 provided on its engaging face with cork or other suitableinserts 49. Extending through4 the sleeve 45 and rotatable independentlythereof is a spindle 52 having splined thereon a disk clutch member 54.The take-up spool 38 is suitably secured to the spindle 52 so as torotate therewith. The clutchl member 54 is provided with an integralcup-shaped sleeve 59, the end wall of which isequipped with a hardenedsteel pin 60 provided with a cone shaped lhead which projects outsidethe end wall thereof and in line with its axis. Between the end wall ofthe cupshaped portion 59 and the end of the spindle 52 upon whichthe'clutch face 54 is movable in a longitudinal direction is acompression spring 61 which actsl in a direction to separate theengaging faces of the clutch members 48 and 54. Secured to a shaft 62positioned above the spindle 52 and having its bearings in the housing41 is a recessed arm 63 which is positioned onthe shaft 62 'directly inline with the axis of the spindle 52 and is provided with a recesswithin which an anti-friction thrust bearing 67 is supported. The coneshaped head of pin 60 rides in the thrust bearing and is held inengagement therewith by means of a compression spring 69 mounted withina recess 68 formed in the arm 63. The compression of this spring isregulated by means of an adjustable pin 70 in engagement with theopposite end thereof. The pin 70 is equipped with a spiral gear 73 whichengages a spiral pinion 74 mounted on a shaft 75 which projects outsidethe housing 41 and is equipped with a suitable handle (not shown) forrevolving it. The supporting end 76 of the pin 70 is screw threaded intothe housing 41 and as the pinion 74 is turned, it will in turn cause thegear 73 to revolve in 70 will be turned to either increase or ecreasethecompression of the s ring 69 to vary'the pressure between the t rustbearing 67 and the cone shaped end of the pin v 60 carried by the 'ageof the wire.

clutch member 54. ,The compression of the sprin 69, however, ischanged-only when a di erent size wire is to be spooled. l

Secured to`one end of the shaft 62 is -an arm 77 pivotally connected atits end to an upwardly extending link 80 which at its upper end ispivotally connected to an arm 81 similar to the arm 77. The arm 81 -issecured to ashaft 83 mounted in suitable bearings supported in thehousing 41, this shaft also having secured thereto an arm 84, thepurpose of which will be hereinafterV explained.

The lever 33 carrying the pulley 32 is suitably secured to a pin 86mounted to turn upon a sleeve portion of a housing 87 (Fig.

vbelow a horizontal line drawn through the axis thereof.. (Fig. 1.)Resting upon the roller 94 is a link 95 pivotally connected at one endto a stud 96 carried by the bracket 88 and at its opposite end to adownwardly 'extending link 97. The lever 33 is held in a normal elevatedposition by a clock spring 98 mounted within the housing 87, one end ofthe spring being secured to the revolvable housing 87 and its other. endto the pin 86 which supports the lever 33. Formed on the housing 87 is aratchet 100 retained .in its set position by a pawl l101 pivoted on astud 102 carried by the bracket 88. The spring 98 acting on the leverarm 33 keeps the Wire under the proper tension to insure smooth and evenspooling thereof on the take-up spool 38 without causing a break- Thetension to be used is determined by the size of the wire to be drawn. Toregulate this tension the housing is Aturned one way or the other,which.

will either decrease or increase the tension of thelspring 98, the p'awl101 retaining the ratchet 100 on the housing 87 in its set position.

The downwardly extending link 97 lpasses through a telescoping springhousing composed of two members 104 and 105. Formed on the member 104adjacent its lower end is a circular flange 106. Screw threaded onto themember 104 below the flange 106is a collar 107 and between the ange 106and the collar 107 is positioned anv eye 108 formed on the end of thearm 84.

The lower end ofthe link 97 is provided with two thumb screws 111 andbetween the end of the member 105 and the upper thumb screw 111'is aplate 112 loosely mounted on the link 97 and adapted to be movedvertical- Iturning thereon by a pin 113 carried in the plate 112 andlprojecting into a slot formed inthe link 97. Screw threaded into theupper end of the member 104 is a-plug 115 through which the link 97 isfree to move.

Positioned around the link 97 within the telescoping housing and restingagainst the plug 115 at one end and a shoulder formed onfl the member105 at its other end is a compression spring 116 the tension of whichcan be decreased-or increasedby turning the thumb screws 111 oneA way orthe other.

In the operation of the wire drawing machine the capstans 17-17 deliverthe drawn wire to the take-up spool 38 at a constant speed vand thespeed at which the wire may be drawn throughl the dies is dependent uponthe speed at which the wire may be taken up. To take up the,wiresuccessfully at a high speed, the tension on the wire must be maintainedsubstantially constant. In starting and stopping the machine and duringthe spooling of the wire the tension on the wire will vary momentarily.During the spooling of the wire the diameter of the take-up spoolincreases as each layer is wound thereon and when the dies aredelivering drawn wire at the rate. of approximately 2500 feet per minutethe take-up spool must be driven at speeds varying from I approximately5,000 to 10,000 R. P. M. in

order to compensate for the-varying diameters of the take-up spool andmaintain a constant tension on the wire to insure uniform spoolingthereof on the take-up spool. When thetension on .the wire is increasedabove the proper tension during .spooling, the free end of the lever 33will be moved down against the action of the clock spring .98. Thismovement of the lever 33 moves I the roller 94 in a clockwise directionand lifts the link 95, thereby causing the leverage acting. against thespring-69 to be increased through the spring 116. The pressure betweenthe thrust bearing 67 and they cone shaped' head on the pin 60 willthereby be diminished and the force stored inthe spring 61 now acts todiminish the pressure between the clutch members 54 and 48, resulting inthe slowing up of the take-up spool 38 due to the clutch member 54slipping on the clutch member `48.

T.Vhen the tension on the wire is decreased below the proper tension thelever 33 moves upward in response to the action of the clock spring 98.Thismovement of the lever 33 moves theroller 94 in a direction away fromthe link 95, which causes the leverage acting against the spring 69through the spring 116 to be diminished. The spring 69 now actsto pressthe thrust bearing 67 ycarried in the arm 63 against the cone shapedhead on the pin 60 with greater pres- .,slure, thereby-increasing thedriving engagement between the clutch member 48 and clutch member 54which results in the speedi'ng up of the take-up spool 38 until'thetension on the wire is again normal.

As the tension on the wire between the capstan 17 and the take-up spool38 varies, the pressure between the clutch members 48 and 54 will varyin responsethereto and cause a change in speed of the take-up spoolaccordingly. Due to the change in pressure between the members 48 and 54in response to the tension on the wire, a substantially constant tensionis' maintained on the wire thereby allowing the machine to be run athigh speed without breakage of the wire, and with accurate spooling ofthe drawn wire on the take-up spool.

My improved form of die which permits the. rapid drawing of wiretherethrough without breakage is shown in detail in Figs. 6 to 9inclusive, in which 5 designates a die body which may be supported by .asuitable supporting member 6 ragmentarily shown. At one end of this dietherel is provided a mouth or tapered opening 7 which is larger at itsupper endl than the diameter of a wire 8 to be reduced and is taperedinwardly toward a straight sided reducing portion 9` which has thediameter of the drawn wire 9. The length L of the narrowed or reducingportion of the open'ing9l should be approximately equal to the diameterd of this opening in order that the wire will undergo such physicalchanges that it will become `completely set in its reduced size beforeemerging from the die and the die will not be subjected to too greatwear. Also this length is not so great as to introduce extra friction tothe drawing of the wire.

Connecting the mouth or tapered portion 7 with the narrow or reducingportion 9 is a curved portion 12 which is tangential to both the mouthand reducing portion 7 and 9, and the radius of curvature R of thiscurved portion is approximately equal to twicethe diameter d of thestraight sided reducing portion 9. This curvature has been found tooffer the least resistance to thevdrawing oi the wire. At its lower endthe straight sided or reducing portion 9 is slightly beveled or rounded,as shown at 13, to prevent cutting or abrading o'l the wire in case itbecomes necessary to back up the wire in the die for any reason.

As previously mentioned, a die constructed and having the proportionsspecified above permits the drawing of wire therethrough at high speeds,with a minimum y trol said means.

wire therethrough without breakage of the wire, of a driving mechanismlfor actuating the take-up spool at high speeds for storing the .wiredrawn throughA said die by said drawing means, ,and means to increase ordecrease the speed of said take-up spool to ses 5 wire runs to thetake-up spool said element being responsive to the 'tension-of the wireto control said means.

5. In a wire drawing apparatus. includingl a take-up spool, and a highvspeed drawing means, the -combination with a die havcompensate for theva ing diameters there-"ing areducing portion in which there is a of asthe wire is store on the spool-includlng an element over which the wireruns to the vtake-up spool said element being responsive to the tensionof thewire to con- 2. In a wire drawing apparatus includ'- ing a take-upspool and a high speed draw. ing means, the combination with a diedesigned to permit high speed drawing of wire therethrough withoutbreakage of'the spool to compensate for the varying diwire, of a drivingmechanism for actuating the take-up spool at high speeds for storing thewire drawn through said die bysaid drawing means, said driving meansincluding a friction clutch, and means for controlling the drivingaction of said clutch for varying the speed of said take-up spool,

' includmg an element over which the wire runs to the take-up spool saidelement being responsive to the tension of the wire to control saidmeans.

3'. In a wire drawing apparatus including a take-up spool, and a highspeed drawing means, the combination with a drawing die having a straiht reducing portion the entrance into whic when viewed in cross sectionis rounded on a radius approximately equal to twice the diameter of thestraight reducing portion whereby wire may be drawn through said die bysaid drawing means at high speed and without breakage of the wire, of adriving mechanism for-actuating the take-u spool at high speeds forstoring the wire rawn through said die, and means to increase ordecrease the speed of said take-up spool, including an elementover whichthe wireruns to the take-up spool said element being responsive to thetension of the wire to control said means. 4. In a wire drawingapparatus including a take-up spool, and a high speed drawf ing means,the combination with a drawing die havinga straight reducing portion theentrance into which when viewed in cross section is roundedon a radiusapproximately equal to twice the diameter of the straight reducingportion whereby wire may be'dra-wn through the die at high speed withoutbreakage of the wire, of a driving -mechanism for actuating the take-upspool at high speeds fon-'storing the wire drawn through said die byYsaid drawing means, and means for controlling the driving mechanism tovary the speed of said take-up aneters thereof as the wire is. stored onthe spool, including an element over which the straight portion havingapproximately the same length as diameter whereby wire may be drawntherethrough by,A said drawing means at high speed without breakage orthe wire, of v.a driving mechanism for actuating the take-up spool athigh speeds for storing the wire drawn through said die, and means toincrease or decreasel the speed of the take-up spool to compensate for'the varying diameters thereof as the "wire is stored on the spool,including an element over which the wire runs to the take-up spool saidelement being responsive tothe tension ofthe wire to control said means.

6. In a wire drawing apparatus including a take-up spool, and a highlspeed drawlOO spool and driving mechanism, and means forvarying thepressure between the disk clutch membersl to vary the speed of thetake-up spool, including an element over which the wire runs to thetake-up spool, said element being responsive to the tension of the wireto control said means.

7. In a wireV drawing apparatus including a take-up spool, and a highspeed drawing means, the combination with a drawing die having a wirereducing opening in which there is a straight portion havingapproximately the same length as the diameter and in which Athe entranceend when viewed in cross section is rounded on a radius approximatelyequal to twice the diameter of the straight portion, whereby wire may bedrawn therethrough by said drawing means at high speed without breakage,of a driving mechanism for actuating the take-up spool at high speeds lmeans.

*` 8. In a wire4 drawing apparatus including a .take-up mechanism and ahigh speed drawing mechanism, and drawing means, the combination with adie designed to permit high speed drawing of the wire therethrough bysaid drawing means without breakage of the wire, of a driving mechanismfor actuating the take-up mechanism at high speeds for storing wiredrawnv 9. In a wire drawing apparatus. 'includ-c ing a take-up mechanismand a .high speed drawing mechanism, said drawing mechanism being drivenat constant speed, the combination with a die designed to permit highspeed drawing of wire therethrough by said drawing means, of a drivingmechanism for actuating the take-up mechanism at high speeds for storingwire drawn through said die, and means to increase or decrease the speedof said take-up mechanism, including an element over which the lmechanism,

wire runs to the take-up mechanism, said element being responsive to thetension of the wire to control said means.

10. In a wire drawing apparatus includ- "ing a take-up mechanism, a highspeed drawing. mechanism including a stepped capstan and positivedriving means for actuating the drawing mechanism at -constant speed,the combination with a die designed to permit high speed drawing of wiretherethrough by said drawing means, of a driving mechanism for actuatingthe takeup mechanism at high speeds for storing wire drawn through saiddie, said driving mechanism including a friction element, and means forcontrolling said friction element for varying the speed of the take-upincluding an element over which the wire runs to the take-up mechanism,said element being responsive to the tension of the wire to control saidmeans.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my namek this 31st day of MayA. D., 1922.

HARRY BLOUNT.

